Everson Griffen arrives in time to fill big opening for Lions
New defensive end Everson Griffen immediately upgraded from a rotational player for Detroit Lions.
The Detroit Lions made a big move last week by trading for Dallas Cowboys defensive end Everson Griffen. While Griffen was not expected to be an instant starter, the Lions are left with no other choice than to elevate him to a larger role right out of the gates.
While the Indianapolis Colts were running over the Lions on Sunday in Detroit, the Honolulu Blue lost more than just the game. No, I’m not talking about star receiver Kenny Golladay going down with a hip injury. I’m talking about starting defensive end Trey Flowers.
Flowers has been placed on Injured Reserve with a shoulder injury and will miss a good amount of time. It’s not a good sign after the Lions made a trade to bolster their pass rush with a more formidable rotation which would allow edge players to stay fresh deeper into games. Now, Griffen will be jumping right into practice and games in a much larger role.
Instead of rotating with Flowers and Romeo Okwara, Griffen will spend the week learning the defense and be ready for full-time action come Sunday. But what does this say about the defense going forward as the injury bug starts to bite again?
What’s next for this Detroit Lions’ defense?
The Lions had a poor showing on the defensive side of the ball as they were seemingly unable to stop the Colts from doing anything. A couple of turnovers didn’t put them in a good spot, but they weren’t able to bend and not break as in previous weeks.
Griffen and the Lions defensive front will be tasked with applying more pressure on opposing quarterbacks and the secondary will be tasked with better coverage behind them. It will start this Sunday against Griffen’s former team, the Minnesota Vikings.
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Can Everson Griffen return to his longtime home in Minnesota and keep this Detroit Lions team in the hunt for a playoff spot? One can only hope. The trade ended up coming at a very good time for a minor price, a conditional sixth-round draft pick in 2021. It’s time for it to pay off for the team from the Motor City.